Clergy and Staff

Mt. Maggie Helwig

The Reverend Maggie Helwig was appointed priest-in-charge in May 2013. Before her ordination, Maggie worked as a writer, editor, arts organizer, and human rights activist. She spent nearly ten years as an organizer of the Friday Out of the Cold/Out of the Heat meal program, which began at St Stephen’s and is now hosted by St Thomas, Huron Street; she also worked as a parish outreach facilitator for York-Credit Valley, and chairs the diocesan Social Justice and Advocacy Committee. She has published twelve books of poetry, essays and fiction, and her most recent novel, Girls Fall Down (which includes scenes set in a slightly fictionalized St Stephen’s), was shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award in 2009, and chosen as the Toronto Public Library’s One Book Toronto in 2012. She has been the literary editor of Canadian Forum, the co-coordinator of the Toronto Small Press Fair and the associate director of the Scream Literary Festival.

Maggie was ordained priest in the Anglican church in January 2012, and has served as the assistant curate at St Timothy’s, North Toronto. She has lived near St Stephen’s for most of her adult life (currently in the Alexandra Park area, a few minutes to the south) and is very excited to be joining the parish as their priest. She hopes to work with the congregation and the community to revitalize their long tradition of engaged urban ministry in the Catholic tradition.

Fr. David Bryan Hoopes, OHC

Priest-in-charge emeritus
incumbent@saintstephens.ca

David Bryan Hoopes was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the Andover Newton Theological School, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, and did studies in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy at the Westchester Institute. He was ordained Priest in 1976 and served as parish priest in the Bahamas, New York City, Brooklyn and Surrey, England. He is active in the leadership of C.A.R.O.A ( Conference of Anglican Religious Orders in the Americas) and a member of the Bishop’s Committee on Healing in the Diocese of Toronto. Along with his duties here at St. Stephen’s, he is Chaplain for the Community of the Sisters of the Church, Honorary Assistant at St. Barnabas, Chester, and as a member of the Order of the Holy Cross, serves as Prior to the Toronto House. Energetic and inspiring, we are honoured to have him with us here at St. Stephen’s.

Fr. Richard Gariepy

Assistant Priest
assistant@saintstephens.ca

Fr. Rick Gariepy is a graduate of McGill University and Diocesan Anglican College from the Montreal Diocese with an M.Div and and MA in Theology from Concordia University. He is an Assistant at St. Stephen’s while pursuing his Certification in Chaplaincy at Sunnybrook Hospital. New to the Toronto scene, Fr. Rick’s dream is to build intentional Christian community here in the inner city Kensington area and is seeking to live Archbishop Rowan Williams’ ‘Mixed Church Economy’ of exploring ways of mutually influencing traditional Church structures and new forms of experiential post-modern Church community. Thus he is involved with the FreeChurch worship and leadership here as well as St. Stephen’s community and worship life. Fr. Rick enjoys music, playing the jembay and trying to keep in shape as a aging hockey goalie!

John Gardham

Parish Musician and Organist
organist@saintstephens.ca
tel 647-523-3550

John returned to St. Stephen’s in the summer of 2011 after holding the position of organist and director of music from 1980 to 1996. He studied voice and organ at the Royal Conservatory of Music and spent time under the tutelage of Gerald Webster and Dr. Melville Cook. He has sung with Tafelmusik and the Exultate Chamber Singers and done recordings for the CBC. His interest in music spans a broad range and as a pipe organ technician he spends much of his spare time working on our historic 1888 George Ryder pipe organ which is featured in the Wednesday noon hour concert series. If you are interested in the music program here at St. Stephen’s please contact John via email.

Leroy Niles
Priest’s Warden
Joy Duran
People’s Warden
wardens@saintstephens.ca